Telangana Municipalities Act amendments make way for co-option of transgender persons as ULB members

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Telangana Government has come up with firm action to enable co-option of transgender persons as a member in the municipal corporations.

The government has amended the Telangana Municipalities Act, 2019, enabling co-option of transgender person as a member in the municipal corporations with the objective of affirming the constitutional principles of dignity, equality and non-discrimination. The amendment would ensure meaningful representation and enable informed, empathetic and equitable decision making at the urban local governance level including during the formulation and implementation of municipal budgets.

The government said transgender persons constituted a historically marginalised and socially excluded group. Their experiences in urban areas were often marked by denial of dignity, systemic discrimination, and limited access to basic civic entitlements such as housing, sustainable livelihoods, healthcare sanitation, mobility and safe use of public spaces. Though welfare schemes and targeted interventions had been introduced to address immediate needs, absence of institutional representation in local governance structures had constrained their ability to participate meaningfully, with dignity and equality, in making decisions that directly their lives.

It was therefore considered to have representation of transgender person as co-option member in urban local bodies so as to strengthen gender responsive planning and budgeting enabling ULBs to mainstream gender equality across municipal programmes, infrastructure investments and service delivery mechanisms.

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